Exciting times! Creative, practical, inspiring ideas to help the environment are cropping up all over. Start-up social enterprises, aka small businesses, are, as always, leading the way.

Enterprising small business owners are reducing carbon emissions and cleaning up the world by taking risks, thinking outside the box, and pulling big organizations along after them.

Social Responsibility Shows Creativeness of Businesses

by Geri Stengel on Jun 22, 2010 - 8:11am

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Don't be put off by the long title. The report by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy is a rich, challenging, inspiring resource, especially the 10 pages of comments from different angles: investor, advocate, foreign leader, consumer, private foundation, and more.

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Calling All Would-be Entrepreneurs: Do Your Homework If You Want to Pass the Test

by Geri Stengel on May 20, 2010 - 8:00am

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The economy is beginning to recover, the Obama administration has proposed $30 billion fund for loans to small businesses: Is this the time to start your own business?

Distinguish Yourself From The Competition: Be Nice!

by Geri Stengel on May 4, 2010 - 10:45am

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It's always gratifying when principles you've espoused for years are echoed by other, successful business people. As you know, I'm an advocate of treating your employees and your customers well. (Check out my eBook for more about that.)

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Here's What Small Business Leaders Can Learn From Big Businesses About Going Green

by Geri Stengel on Apr 20, 2010 - 9:20am

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"We're still here." So begins the State of Green Business Report from GreenBiz.com. The big news according to the report, is that green businesses were not the first to go during the Great Downturn.

Bottom Billion is Major Market for Entrepreneurs Who Get It

by Geri Stengel on Apr 15, 2010 - 2:00am

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If you wanted to design a product for the Indian market, where would you begin? Do you even know what products are needed? Do you know how to give your product value in the multi-faceted culture of the sub-continent? Do you know how much of that market has electricity, running water, or other infrastructure that might be needed in order to use your product?

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There's Green Out There, Both Money To Be Had and Environmentally Friendly Technologies: Go Get It!

by Geri Stengel on Apr 8, 2010 - 10:15am

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It bears repeating: New York state, city, and county really want businesses to "go green." And they're putting their money where their mouth is. All levels of government, and some utilities, are offering big incentives if businesses implement energy-saving technology.

Boomer Builds Business Through Support

by Geri Stengel on Mar 30, 2010 - 10:15am

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Prelude to the Road to Entrepreneurship
I teach Entrepreneurship at The New School. The class is a mix of matriculated and non-matriculated students. They range in age from 18 to 65 years of age. They take my class for a variety of reasons: some have a business idea; others have entrepreneurial instincts and want to see if they can generate an idea for a business; still others are just curious.

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Competency Doesn't Mean Heartlessness: Businesses Can Be Profitable and Compassionate

by Geri Stengel on Mar 11, 2010 - 11:45am

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I've said my piece about the competency of nonprofits – they are competent! – but now I have to speak up for businesses – they can be trustworthy, compassionate, and ethical.

That is not the perception of businesses in the survey recently published by Stanford University. The study indicated that nonprofits are viewed as trustworthy and incompetent. It found that corporations are viewed as competent but not trustworthy or "moral."

Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Social Enterprises Will Benefit From Ventureneer's Free eBook

by Geri Stengel on Mar 2, 2010 - 11:45am

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As a teacher, consultant, nonprofit board member, and entrepreneur, I've learned a lot about starting and growing a business. I'm distilling the key points into a series of free ebooks for small businesses – that includes commercial businesses, nonprofits, and social enterprises.

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